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Thompson: Warriors fall flat on All-Star Saturday

By Marcus Thompson II

Bay Area News Group

Posted:
02/15/2014 09:33:00 PM PST

Updated:
02/15/2014 11:30:02 PM PST

NEW ORLEANS -- Harrison Barnes was asked if he was going to give his starting point guard a hard time for losing the Three-Point Shootout. He paused, perhaps to recall his performance in Saturday's dunk contest, broke into a smile and confessed he wasn't in position to throw stones at Stephen Curry.

"I think we both kind of laid eggs tonight," Barnes joked.

No, All-Star Saturday didn't go so well for the Warriors. Curry failed to make it out of the first round of the shootout. Regarded as the best shooter in the game, Curry is now 0 for 3 in his bid to win the popular event.

He wants another crack next year.

"I'd do it every year, if they would let me," Curry said. "If you're a shooter, you have to (win it) at least once."

Barnes didn't come close to picking up the slack for the Bay Area. He failed to stand out in the freestyle round of the dunk competition. Then, in a head-to-head match with Indiana's Paul George, Barnes was underwhelming.

Twice he missed his attempt to cock it behind his head before wind-milling it, converting a lesser version on the third attempt. George, on the other hand, dunked home a 360-degree, between-the-legs dunk. Barnes was done.

He never got a chance to pull out his better dunks and secret weapon.

"The vintage J-Rich was in the back," Barnes said of his plans to tribute Warriors' two-time dunk champ Jason Richardson. "I should've brought it out first if I had known I was going to be up against Paul George."

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Barnes and his straight-laced demeanor was always an odd fit for the dunk contest. He's more of an in-game dunker, whose dunks are more about power and belittling the defender in his way. The dunk contest is more about style, creativity and showmanship.

He said that before he'd enter the dunk contest again, he'd have to prepare with a few dunk contests over the summer. He joked about getting experience by challenging Curry and coach Mark Jackson to dunk contests after practice.

Curry's struggles in the 3-point shootout are a bit more surprising.

He needed 20 points to advance to the final round. And it looked as if he was getting warm, making all but one of the fourth rack.

A tweak in the rules gave contestants one rack of their choosing filled with "money" balls. Curry put his on the last, so he went into the final rack with 10 points up for the grabs.

He made one and finished with 16.

"I went out there and knew the number I needed to get," Curry said. "I got through the (fourth) rack and thought I had a good shot at it. But I just got a little cold.

"I'm a little disappointed that I didn't win. But hopefully I'm allowed to come back."

Curry is on pace to make 270 3-pointers this season, which puts him in the range to break the single-season record he set last season (272). He's almost unanimously considered the best shooter in the league.

But this 3-point contest is his kryptonite. His first attempt, in 2010, he made it to the final round but lost to Paul Pierce.

After a two-year hiatus, he returned last year. His 17 points in the first round weren't enough to advance.

"It's different off the racks," Curry explained, "and you have to get hot when it matters."

Curry can still get hot when it matters, as Sunday's All-Star game matters the most of this weekend's offerings.

Some good news: After flopping in the 3-point shootout last season, Curry went on to make 123 3-pointers in 30 games after the break (4.1 per game) at a 46.1 percent clip.

"We're saving our legs for the second half of the season," Barnes said. "Exactly."